Montréal, August 12, 2013 – The men’s Canadian foil fencing team came away with a 15th place classification at the World Championships presented in Budapest, Monday, while the women’s sabre team finished in 20th.

Montrealers Étienne Lalonde Turbide, Anthony Prymack and Maximilien Van Haaster along with Calgary-native Rory Chisholm won their first and last matches, but also dropped three contests.

Ranked 18th in the International Fencing Federation (FIE) ranking, the men’s side started well with a 45-31 victory over Belarus (15th) in the first round of the main table.

“Beating Belarus is a pretty big deal, Lalonde Turbide pointed out. We came out strong and beat them methodically, without much stress.”

They were then defeated by the Americans, however, falling 45-25 to the 2nd best team in the world and 4th place finishers in London Olympic Games. The 10th ranked Egyptians then beat them by a score of 45-42, followed by another heartbreaker against the Austrians (14th), 45-43.

The Americans eventually went on to the final, where they were beaten by pre-tournament favorites the Italians 45-33.

“The American team is stronger than ours, Lalonde Turbide conceded. The fencer who won the individual event is an American (Miles Chamley-Watson). They’re more experienced then we are.”

The Egyptians, led by 2012 Olympic runner-up Alaaeldin Abouelkassem, also turned out to be an extremely tough opponent.

“We’re a young team; we haven’t been competing together for very long. We’re in a rebuilding mode at the moment,” the veteran added, in explaining the losses to the Egyptians and the Austrians.

In their last match, the Canadians beat the 21st ranked Hungarians by a score of 45-43.

“The guys had the lead throughout. In the 9th relay, Anthony went out on the strip but he hurt himself pretty bad. He ended up having to go to the hospital with a concussion.”

“I had to put my gear back on to finish the match. It took me two or three touches to get into a good rhythm, but I managed to get the job done, Lalonde Turbide said. The Montrealer had not drawn against the Hungarians up until that point, as he was sitting out to avoid aggravating a back injury.

Meanwhile, the women’s sabre team, made up of Gabriella Page of Blainville, Marissa Ponich of Edmonton, Sandra Sassine, of Montréal, and Chantel Helwer of Winnipeg, unfortunately came up short in their first contest in the field of 32.

The Belarusians (14th) put an end to the 20th ranked Canadians’ day, winning by a score of 45-39.

The best fencers in the world will now get a reprieve of several months, as Grand Prix and World Cup season doesn’t begin again until January.

“It’s vacation time, and I’m really looking forward to it. My back is not in the best shape, so the timing is good for a break,” Lalonde Turbide admitted, suffering from a sore back since the month of April.

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Written by Sportcom for the CFF